Wicked Comet
by thunder child 14
Summary: What if Elphaba had a cousin? What if he invented something that would change Oz forever? Follow Elphaba and her cousin Richmond "Rich" Thropp as they journey through the events of Wicked.
1. Chapter 1

_**Wicked Comet part 1**_

The sun shone brightly down on the land of Oz, all

across the land everything was peaceful.

In Shiz university, things were just as peaceful. But

in one particular room, two very unique individuals were having a discussion. These were Elphaba and

Richmond Thropp. Both of them were cousins and

the closest cousins could be. Richmond or "Rich" as he preferred to be called was the eldest by around 2 months; he had short Fiery Red hair and turquoise eyes that shone in the light of the multiple candles that were lit in his Private Dormitory room. He also wore a pair of thin rimmed spectacles which he used for Reading.

Elphaba Thropp was the younger of the two, she had long raven black hair and brown eyes and she would be considered very beautiful, the only issue was that Elphaba's skin was bright Green! This had been a source of ridicule and hate from others to her for most of Elphaba's life. Rich had always been there for Elphaba since he lived just down the road from Elphaba's home and had always defended her when the need arose. Rich was also a keen inventor and Engineer, ever since he was 6 years of age, Rich had designed devices to help people less fortunate than he. He had even designed a clockwork device for Elphaba's wheelchair bound sister Nessarose which made the wheelchair able to go faster with less effort on Nessa's part which saved her a lot of strain on her arms.

"Rich, there's a party on at the Ozdust tonight" Elphaba said to Rich.

Rich turned round in his swivel chair and looked right at Elphaba.

"and why would i want to go to a party? You know i have a lot of work to do" Rich replied.

"oh Rich, you've been stuck indoors working since we arrived here! You need to loosen up a little" Elphaba retorted.

Rich knew that it was stupid to continue arguing with Elphaba since she always won arguements so he sighed and said,

"alright, i'll go. But we both know that i am a very bad dancer!"

Elphaba nodded and the two cousins went to their respective Dorms to get ready for the party at the

Ozdust Ballroom.

SEVERAL HOURS LATER

Rich waited outside the Ozdust's doors for Elphaba to arrive, he had already seen Nessarose enter the room with a munchkinlander by the name of "Boq" or "Biq" as Galinda called him. So he knew that Elphaba wouldn't be very far behind. Right now, Rich was wearing his smartest suit, like all of his clothes the suit was designed for Practicality over style. Consulting his wrist watch (Which Rich had made himself),

Rich breathed through his teeth.

"at this rate, the party will be over before Elphaba gets here" he thought to himself.

Just as the thought passed his mind, Rich heard the sound of running footsteps, he looked up to see Elphaba in a simple navy blue dress running towards him. She hardly looked like the Elphaba he was used to. But then Rich's eyes were drawn to the ugly black hat resting on Elphaba's head.

"Uh, Elphie, are you sure you should be wearing that?" Rich asked in concern whilst gesturing to the hat.

"it was a gift from Galinda" Elphaba replied simply.

"yeah, it might have been but i think it might have been given with less than pure intentions" Rich retorted.

Elphaba just rolled her eyes and pushed the Ozdust's doors as she strode confidently in with Rich close behind.

When Rich finally arrived into the main ballroom he was already too late. The music had stopped and everyone was staring at Elphaba who was standing in the middle of the dance floor all by herself.

Then to everyone's surprise, Elphaba started to dance all on her own with no music!

"Way to go Elphie" Rich murmured under his breath and a proud smile on his face as he joined the dancefloor and walked over to one side to get a drink.

At that exact moment Galinda, obviously feeling guilty about her childish prank, joined Elphaba on the dancefloor. The two started to dance quite badly but obviously they were enjoying themselves. Eventually, one by one, everyone else started to resume their dancing. As sweet music began to fill the air again, Rich made his way over to Galinda and said to her quietly,

"That was a rather childish prank you pulled on my cousin."

"I know, i feel horrible about it even now" Galinda replied solemly.

"well at least you redeemed yourself. There are very few people that would." Rich added wisely.

Galinda nodded and moved back to the dancefloor and resumed dancing with Fiyero. Rich just stood there, drink in hand, watching Elphaba, Galinda, Fiyero, Nessarose, Boq and the others in the Ozdust dance the night away.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Wicked Comet part 2**_

Several Weeks later

Elphaba and Galinda had become very good friends now, nearly as close as Elphaba and Rich's cousin relationship. Rich had also become friends with Galinda as well but he was still wary of the blonde. Right now, Elphaba and Galinda were walking in the bright afternoon sunshine towards the Engineering block where Rich was studying. They had arranged with him to go to a new local restaurant which Galinda said was "Fabulocious"

But as the two approached the block, a whole section of which had been shut off from regular students due to orders from Madame Morrible and a request from Rich, they both noticed that something was very suspicious. For one, the corridors around the workshops were completely empty!

"something is up" Elphaba said in a confused tone.

"i agree" Galinda replied.

They continued into the Engineering block and slowly, they began to hear loud banging, hissing and a shreiking/whiring sound. But also the smell of Smoke!

Quickening their pace, Elphaba and Galinda raced towards the largest workshop and flung the door open to reveal a huge cloud of smoke enshrouding something and Rich attempting to put out the fire with his jacket.

"Rich, what in Oz are you doing!" Elphaba shouted.

Rich turned to the two whilst still trying to beat out the fire and said "No time for that now, grab that bucket of water and chuck it on the fire!" whilst gesturing to a large bucket of water.

Elphaba and Galinda managed to pick up the bucket with a lot of struggling and gasping for air, they threw the bucket of water onto the fire, putting it out instantly and throwing up a huge cloud of steam.

"Rich, are you alright?" Elphaba asked worriedly, still coughing on the smoke.

"Yeah, just give me a second" Rich shouted back, as he said this Elphaba and Galinda could hear some loud mechanical clanking as Rich operated some sort of mechanism. Finally, some hatches in the ceiling opened, venting the smoke into the outside air. Slowly but surely, the smoke cleared and through the haze, something loomed out at them.

It was huge, much larger than any machine built in all of Oz before, it had large swept back blade shaped objects on either side and another shape that looked like a boat's rudder that had been turned upside down on the machine's back. Both Elphaba and Galinda looked up at the machine in awe.

(A.N if you want to know what the aircraft looks like, it is identical to the De havilland Comet airliner Prototype but with oval windows and extended range)

"Rich, what in Oz is this thing?" Elphaba exclaimed whilst gesturing to the machine.

Rich leapt down from the ledge he used to access the roof panels and strode over to them.

"I had hoped to have kept this a secret for the forseeable future but i might as well tell you two." He said guiltily.

Elphaba and Galinda both raised their brows at Rich who continued with his explanation.

"This" Rich said proudly whilst gesturing to the machine "is the Comet, Oz's first powered Aircraft and Oz's first Jet aircraft. It is designed to carry Passengers and Cargo further and Faster than anything in history"

"So this is what you have been working on all this time" Elphaba said in realisation.

Rich nodded and as they continued to gaze at the Comet, Galinda asked,

"How do you know it will work?"

"Ah, i don't actually know. I haven't even started the engines yet. Well i have when everyone was out but even then, i haven't started the engines after i installed them in the plane." Rich admitted guiltily.

"Besides, if the engines do start whilst installed, you can't do it in here." Elphaba added.

"That's the problem. I have to roll out the aircraft into the courtyard in order to be able to have a reasonable amount of space around the Comet in order for me to start it up." Rich replied.

"why can't we just roll it out now?" Galinda asked in a confused tone.

"you are so blonde Galinda, if we were to roll out the Comet now, there would be a riot!" Rich snapped.

As Rich and Galinda argued, Elphaba thought for a moment, she checked her watch that Rich had given her, made a few mental calculations and came up with a solution.

"We could roll it out just before Dawn tomorrow and fire up the Engines then." She said to Rich and Galinda.

"Wouldn't that wake everyone up?" Rich asked.

"Most of the Dorms are on the other side of Shiz, all of them soundproofed so they should mask the sound of the Comet's engines" Elphaba replied.

As she said this, Rich smiled brightly at her.

"Elphaba, you are a genius!" he said in joy.

As Rich was starting to have a huge explosion of excitement, Galinda interrupted him.

"Uh, sorry to interrupt, but we still do have that restaurant to go to!" she said.

Rich then calmed himself down as he went behind a heavy oak door to change into a shirt and trousers before he emerged and said "Well come on, what are we waiting for?"

And with that, Elphaba, Rich and Galinda strode out of the door towards town, excited for tomorrow morning, for then the Comet would come to life for the first time!


	3. Chapter 3

_**Wicked Comet part 3**_

It was now early morning in Shiz university. Pretty much everyone was still asleep, except for a few staff members and Rich, Elphaba and Galinda who had woken up much earlier than normal to prepare the Comet for its first engine start. Galinda and Elphaba had hot drinks in their hands which were much deserved as they had just assisted Rich in dragging the Comet outside. They were watching Rich as he attempted to pull down the aircraft's escape ladder so he, Galinda and Elphaba could board the Comet.

Elphaba, as patient as ever finally lost all patience and said to Rich "Oh, just get on with it Rich!" quietly but it was still loud enough to make Rich jump quite high off the ground. His hand reached out, caught the escape ladder and as Rich fell back down, the ladder came with him and locked into place with a loud CLUNK!

"What the heck was that for?" Rich exclaimed in a raised whisper.

Elphaba rolled her eyes at her cousin and said in a smug tone "Well it worked didn't it?"

Rich ignored her and proceeded to climb the Ladder and into the Comet.

Once Elphaba and Galinda had climbed inside they both gasped in Awe at the interior. Mostly because the interior was rather cramped even though it had no furnishing in it except for some interior walls and some hair (Which Rich had probably bought from the nearby home furnishing store). But the cockpit was the actual jewel of the interior.

It was full of a huge array of switches, dials and overall the cockpit looked exceedingly peculiar and altogether quite impossible to describe.

A few seats were in here too. There were two that were placed right up against the control panel with two wheels on poles in front of them.

Rich was sitting in the left hand seat and was flicking some random switches on the overhead panel.

"Not long now" Rich said to Elphaba and Galinda without breaking his concentration.

Both Elphaba and Galinda knew instantly that Rich was referring to the Engines being started. A sense of sheer excitement filled them all at the thought of the Comet's four jet engines being started for the first time after being installed.

But then as Rich activated one particular switch, a loud electronic BING filled the air,

making Elphaba and Galinda jump in surprise!

"Don't worry, it's just the ignition kicking in, i hope." Rich said reassuringly but Elphaba knew that tone of voice that Rich had just used. He was unsure of what was happening and that troubled Elphaba.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity, a dull shreiking whine echoed from the left hand side of the

Comet. In response to this, Rich eagerly flicked another two switches and turned his gaze to a set of

gauges arranged in three sets of four, all arranged in rows underneath the first.

Rich gestured to the set of gauges marked n1 and said "number 1 is turning over!" in sheer excitement.

Sure enough, the set of needles in the gauges marked no1 in order of Power percentage, temperature and thrust started to move very slowly upwards in readouts.

Tension mounted in the Comet's cockpit increasingly quickly and Galinda had to sit down to stop herself from falling over and fainting.

"C'mon, start. Start you useless piece of Junk!" Rich muttered underneath his breath. And as if by magic, the three needles on the number one engine gauge raced upwards and hit their maximum indicated levels briefly before returning to a constant low speed setting. This was accompanied by a loud shriek which quickly turned into a high pitched whine.

Galinda, Elphaba and Rich all yelled at the top of their voices in excitement. The first of the four engines had started!

Eagerly, Rich repeated the startup process for Engines 2, 3 and 4. All three started quickly and settled down to the same levels as engine 1.

"They actually work!" Rich yelled in joy.

Elphaba immediatley raised her right hand and Rich responded as he gave Elphaba a high five. Galinda did the same and all three friends felt overjoyed that they had started the engines of a machine that would change Oz forever.

"Rich, can you get it to move?" Galinda asked.

Rich looked at her for a moment, obviously considering Galinda's request.

"I don't see why we can't try to move the Comet" He replied and as he said this, he flicked a small red switch forwards marked "Parking Brake" to the released position and pushed four white levers marked 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Elphaba and Galinda both guessed that the four levers were some sort of Throttle system like those used on Trains within Oz.

The Comet groaned slightly as the Four engines increased slightly in power and noise, slowly but surely, the Comet started to move gracefully forwards before Rich suddenly pulled back the throttles and applied the parking brakes again.

"Why did you do that Rich?" Elphaba and Galinda exclaimed, both of them a little cross that Rich had cut this moment of history short.

Rich didn't reply except for shutting down the engines and pointing outside ahead of them where a large crowd of people were advancing at a fast pace towards them, Madame Morrible and Doctor Dillamond at the Front!

"We're in trouble now!" Galinda said in a scared tone.

Rich didn't respond as he opened a window hatch on his left and poked his head out of it.

"Good Morning everyone! What brings you all out here?" Rich said in a joyful tone, even though he knew full well why they were all here.

Morrible was the first to speak whilst gesturing to the Comet.

"We were all awoken by an infernal screeching noise. When we came down to investigate this monstrosity was standing in the courtyard! Would you mind explaining what that is and why it was making so much noise?!"

Rich looked guilty as he said

"I'm sorry about that. The noise you heard was the Engines of this, the Comet. Oz's first powered aircraft and the First Jet Oz has ever seen. It is designed to provide everyone with a fast, clean and efficient alternative to Trains. I rather miscalculated the noise of the Ghosts and i thought the distance from the dorm rooms and their soundproofing would be sufficient to hide the noise."

"So you are trying to say that this flies?" Morrible asked, now very intregued.

"Well, i'm not even sure if the Comet does fly. I haven't even completed the ground tests yet." Rich replied.

Morrible's eyes widened and it took her a moment to compose herself.

"The Wizard will want to hear about this. I'll write at once and let him know of the Comet's existance" Morrible said to Rich.

Dillamond then spoke to Rich.

"When are you going to make the first flight?"

Rich thought for a moment before he said

"maybe 3 days to 3 weeks. Depending on how the Ground Tests go"

There was a mumur of excitement amongst the gathered crowd.

Morrible then nodded and said to Rich before ushering the crowd away

"I'll make the necessary arrangements"


	4. Chapter 4

_**Wicked Comet part 4**_

3 days later.

The Sun shone brightly down upon Shiz University's main courtyard, casting its glow upon everything there. The light also reflected upon the skin of the Shiny, unpainted skin of the Comet, nearly blinding the dozens of press officials and Government ambassadors who had heard news about the Comet and had journeyed to Shiz to see the Aircraft. Teachers and Students of Shiz were also gathered behind a temporary fence. Excitement rippled through everyone as they patiently waited to see the Comet being tested. Rich was in the cockpit, undergoing the final pre-startup checks. At the Moment, Galinda and Elphaba were sitting in a noise proof platform, raised high above the ground so in order to see the whole courtyard. They were to handle all communications between the Comet and the Ground using another of Rich's inventions which he called the Radio.

As Rich began the starting sequence, Elphaba's voice crackled through the radio.

"Rich, everything looks good out here. You are cleared for start"

Rich pressed a button on his headset and replied

"Roger that"

He then began to start the four Ghost Jet engines. Once he was about to activate engine 1's ignition, he leant outside the open side window and shouted at the top of his voice "Clear Jet!" Once he had done this, Rich leant back inside the Comet's cockpit and closed the side window.

To Everyone watching the Comet, there was the dull whining sound of the Ghost's air starters and then the loud whooshing and shreiking of all four engines starting. Slowly, the bright silver Comet began to taxy to one end of the Courtyard and turned 180 degrees to face the opposite end. Everyone was expecting a high speed taxy run. But Rich had other ideas.

"Ok, Flaps are down to 15 degrees, Fuel Tanks are full and Engines are within normal parameters." Rich said to himself as he crossed off a mental checklist.

Glancing down at the Throttles, Rich placed his right hand on them and said,

"Well, here goes nothing" and pushed the Throttles to full power.

All of the spectators watched in amazement as the Comet's engines grew rapidly to a deafening roar and they all had to cover their ears as the Comet slowly but surely began to accelerate.

Faster and Faster the Comet moved and Elphaba couldn't help but feel worried for her cousin, Galinda was also worried as she and Elphaba were the only two people that had been told that Rich was going to attempt to take off.

Elphaba wasn't really the religious type but she sent a quick prayer to the unnamed god for Rich's safety.

As the Comet passed the midpoint of the courtyard, the point where Rich usually put the brakes on during the taxy tests. People became alarmed at the lack of Braking.

"IT'S GOING TO CRASH!" someone yelled.

Nessarose was sitting next to the person in question and snapped at them,

"Be Quiet! Rich knows what he is doing and i have full confidence in him!"

The Comet was now three quarters across the courtyard and the opposite buildings were now approaching rapidly!

Galinda grabbed the radio mike from Elphaba and shouted down it

"YOU'RE GOING TO HIT THE BUILDINGS! GET THAT HEAP OF JUNK IN THE AIR!"

There was no response for a moment, but then the nose of the Comet rose and the aircraft was angled to the ground travelling on its main gear for just a moment before the tension in the main gear relaxed and the Comet rose.

"IT FLIES! IT FLIES!" someone shouted.

The Crowd then went wild, standing up, cheering and clapping as loud as they could. The Comet had made it's first take off! History had been made in Oz! The Comet then lifted it's undercarriage and banked sharply to the left in a wide turn over the Shiz area. Elphaba and Galinda both cheered loudest of all.

Rich's voice then crackled through the radio,

"How was that for a first flight?"

Elphaba spoke back

"Amazing. Although you did have us thinking you were about to crash."

Rich just chuckled softly to himself.

"Alrighty then, lets see what this beast can do." He eventually said over the radio and with that, the tests began.

SEVERAL HOURS LATER

Over the previous few hours, Rich had put the Comet through its paces. Testing its performance, response times of the Engines, Gear and Flaps, etc. He also did some manoeuvrability tests as well, at one point; Rich put the Aircraft into a barrel roll! The Spectators on the ground all watched in amazement at the sheer sight of the Silver aircraft performing all sorts of manoeuvres that were never thought possible. Well, up until recently, they had thought that powered flight was an impossibility. The only other major form of flight was the hot air balloon that the Wizard of Oz arrived in some years ago.

But now it was time to land, Elphaba and Galinda had checked the Wind Speed and direction beforehand as the speed and direction of wind was important for the Comet to take off and land safely.

Rich watched the Controls carefully as he swung the Comet round the complex series of Physical landmarks which he had picked out previously in an earlier part of the flight so he would be lined up on the courtyard which served as the runway.

As he aligned the Comet with the Runway, Rich gently drew back the power on the four Ghost Jet Engines, lowered full flaps and lowered the Landing Gear.

Once he was lined up, Rich spoke through the radio to Elphaba,

"Elphaba, what's the conditions like on the landing strip?"

Elphaba's voice filtered back through the radio,

"Wind conditions are stable for landing, getting a little dark now but Lights are being lit. Everyone is waiting on you now"

"Roger that" Rich replied and then he took a deep breath as he mentally prepared himself for the Comet's first landing.

Descending rapidly, The Comet swooped low over the buildings of Shiz University. The Ghost Engines shrieking loudly. Tension mounted amongst the gathered crowd just as it had when the Comet took off.

Once over the courtyard edge, Rich forced the Comet down faster. The Main wheels then touched the ground with a soft squeal and twin puffs of smoke, then the nose descended and the nose wheel touched down also producing the same effects as the mainwheels.

Everyone heard the loud squeal of the Comet's brakes and a soft whump as the Comet released a parachute from the rear of the aircraft. Both of which combined with the flaps being deployed well before landing helped to slow the Comet to a quick and safe stop. Once stopped, the Comet retracted its flaps and parachute and taxied back over to its parking spot where it shut down its engines.

Everyone within the courtyard cheered, History had been made in Oz and they had all been there to witness it. The Future looked bright for everyone and Rich, Elphaba and Galinda would be there at the very cutting edge.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Wicked Comet part 5**_

(A.N I acknowledge the fact that parts of this book separate parts of the play very distantly but it is all needed to maintain the flow of the story)

It had been several weeks since the Comet made its first flight. News of the Aircraft had spread throughout Oz. Rich was being treated like a celebrity as was Elphaba and Galinda.

Rich was currently sitting underneath the Comet's wings to shelter from the rain which was pouring down heavily. Normally he would be in class by now but it had been cancelled after Dr Dillamond had been fired. A new teacher had revealed a new invention known as the cage. Inside was a terrified lion cub!

Elphaba had gotten so distressed that she had inadvertently cast a spell over the entire class except for Fiyero and herself. Whilst they had escaped with the Lion Cub, Rich had done his best to cover for them. But the class was all so distressed, the lesson had to be cancelled. Since Rich had no other classes afterwards, he had made his way over to the Comet and had proceeded to check engine number 3 again as it had been responding slower to the throttles than usual. After finding and replacing a small part in the engine fuel feed system. The rain had come and Rich had to take shelter underneath the wings.

Then suddenly without warning, the rain stopped! Rich peered out of the shelter of the wings to see that the clouds had gone and the sun now shone brightly down upon the land as it gently descended into the evening sky.

"The heck?" Rich asked himself before he ducked back under the Comet and finished the cup of coffee that he had been drinking as he had worked on Engine 3.

Once he had finished the coffee, the sound of footsteps caught his ears. Rich turned to see Elphaba, who was wearing a white blouse over a dark blue skirt, walking towards him with an excited look on her face.

"What's gotten you excited?" Rich asked curiously.

Elphaba didn't reply, all she did was hand Rich an emerald envelope with the Wizard's seal on it.

With great care, Rich opened up the envelope and read the letter inside.

It read, "Dear Mr Richmond Thropp, as you are probably aware, the Wizard of Oz was notified about your Comet aircraft before it had even flown. He has followed the progress of the testing with extreme interest and would like to inform you that a runway for Comet use has been built in the middle of the Emerald city. So in that note, The Wizard would like to invite you to the Emerald city to meet, with your Cousin Miss Elphaba Thropp. The Wizard would like to request that you bring the Comet and all documentation relating to the Comet as the Wizard has requested to know how such a machine was brought into existence. Please come as soon as you are able."

As soon as he had finished reading, Rich looked up to Elphaba who looked so excited, she would melt!

"If this is what i think it is" Rich began.

"We're going to the emerald city to meet the wizard!" Elphaba replied excitedly.

Rich immediately stood up and said "Right. Best plan is, is to get some sleep and fly out early tomorrow"

Elphaba nodded before the cousins strode off to let their friends and family know about their latest fortunes.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Wicked Comet part 6**_

The next day, the sun was shining brightly down upon Shiz. In the courtyard, the Comet was being prepared for its flight to the Emerald city. Every inch of the Comet had been polished to sparkling perfection the night before and now, the aircraft was being fuelled and loaded. Nessa and Boq had already visited to wish Rich and Elphaba luck.

Rich was doing final technical checks in the cockpit; he had to make sure that everything was going to work as it should. If he didn't, something could go badly wrong and if it happened in the emerald city. Well, let's just say that things wouldn't end well for anyone.

Outside the Comet, Elphaba was loading the last of her small amount of luggage into the Comet's spacious cargo hold whilst Galinda was standing nearby. Galinda looked upset.

"Rich and I will be fine. Don't worry about that" Elphaba said to her friend, trying to comfort her.

"No, it's not that. It's Fiyero. He seems to be distant and he's been thinking and that worries me!" Galinda replied, whilst still upset.

Rich had left his cockpit window open and had overheard this.

"Now that is troubling" He said down jokingly to Elphaba and Galinda but the two friends ignored him.

As if on cue, Fiyero came running up to Elphaba and Galinda.

"Speak of the devil" Rich muttered to himself.

"Fiyero, over here dearest!" Galinda waved to Fiyero, now obviously cheered up. But Fiyero had ignored her and gone straight to Elphaba holding flowers which he gave to her!

Fiyero looked a little nervous as he said,

"Uh, listen, I've been thinking" he began.

"Yes i heard." Elphaba replied. This made Rich and Galinda chuckle but they both silenced themselves once they realised what the other was doing, both blushing furiously.

"About that Lion cub and... Everything. I think about that day a lot." Fiyero said.

"Really? So do i" Elphaba replied.

Galinda decided to butt in with,

"Me too! Poor Doctor Dillamond. It makes me want to... Uh... Take a stand. So I've been thinking of... Uh... Changing my name"

"Your name?" Fiyero asked curiously.

"Well, yes! Since Doctor Dillamond had his own way of pronouncing my name, in solidarity and to express my outrage, I will henceforward be no longer as Galinda, but as simply, Glinda" Galinda or now Glinda replied.

Fiyero looked absent as he said to Glinda,

"Oh well, that's very admirable of you... Glinda" then he said to Elphaba "Elphaba, good luck" then he ran off.

Glinda turned to Elphaba,

"There see" She said.

Elphaba did her best to make Galinda feel better and the two friends embraced.

"Come on Elphaba. I'm ready for start!" Rich called down from the cockpit.

Elphaba then spoke quietly to Glinda.

"Come with us"

"Where?" Glinda asked.

"To the Emerald City" Elphaba replied.

"I've always wanted to see the emerald city!" Glinda said excitedly.

"Well then, you had better get a small bag packed right now. I'm planning to take off soon!" Rich warned Glinda, who raced off back to Glinda and her Bedroom to pack a small suitcase.

Half an hour later, Glinda came racing back to the Comet, suitcase in tow which she and Elphaba lifted into the Comet's hold, which Elphaba shut and locked. After that, both Elphaba and Glinda raced up the boarding ladder and pulled it in. Glinda closed the main door and locked it. Afterwards, the friends took their seats in the Comet's cockpit as Rich fired up the engines. As he did so, everyone in Shiz poured out of the doors to cheer off the Comet as it made its journey to the Emerald city.

Glinda waved out of the Windows at the assembled crowd who all waved back, Elphaba and Rich waved at Nessarose as the Comet taxied.

When Rich finally aligned the Comet for take-off, he turned to Elphaba and Glinda and said,

"Ready?"

"Definitely" Elphaba and Glinda said at the same time.

Rich just smiled at them and turned back to the controls.

Slowly, he pushed the throttles to full power, the engines roared, sending slight vibrations throughout the airframe. The brakes were released and the Comet roared at high speed down the runway.

Glinda and Elphaba squealed in fright when the aircraft lurched on a particular stretch of the grass runway.

"It's perfectly alright, this happened all of the time during the flight tests. Dent in the runway or something" Rich called back to Elphaba and Glinda as the Comet accelerated faster and faster down the runway.

Finally, as both Elphaba and Glinda thought that they were going to crash, Rich pulled back on the control column and the Comet lifted into the air off on its way to the Emerald City. What no-one knew was, was the Comet would not return to Shiz for a very long time.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Wicked Comet part 7**_

1 hour after take-off

The Comet cruised at high speed through the skies above Oz. Inside, Elphaba, Glinda and Rich were all becoming more and more excited as the time went on. The Comet would soon land in the Emerald City and the next phase of their lives would begin! Elphaba had taken the opportunity to change into a completely black dress that covered every inch of her up to the bottom of her neck and the tops of her ankles, leaving her boots, neck, head and hands visible and making sure she was presentable for meeting the Wizard, she also wore the black, pointy hat that Glinda had given her. Glinda had also gotten changed after Elphaba; Glinda was now wearing a yellow summer dress with matching shoes. Rich however hadn't left his seat in the cockpit the whole time, despite Glinda's protests. Rich was the only one in the whole of Oz who knew how to fly the Comet.

Right at this moment, Elphaba and Glinda were relaxing in the Comet's comfortable seats in the new and tastefully decorated Passenger Cabin which Glinda had designed herself. Both were staring out of the windows in excitement as the Land of Oz passed swiftly under the Comet. The sound of the engines was barely noticeable in the cabin and only the slightest vibrations could be felt, a testament to Rich's brilliant engineering that went into the Comet.

"Oh, I can't wait to see the Emerald city!" Glinda said in excitement.

"I know. I am excited myself" Elphaba replied.

Rich then shouted from the cockpit back towards Elphaba and Glinda,

"You two better not get your hopes up. We don't know what the runway that the Wizard has built in the Emerald city is like. It might be too dangerous to land!" He warned them.

But as he said this, a bright glow slowly appeared out of the horizon, Elphaba, Glinda and Rich all looked at it as the Comet rapidly approached. Slowly, but surely, the glow took on an emerald green tint and it instantly became clear where the Emerald Glow was coming from.

"The Emerald City!" Glinda gasped.

"I knew it was green but I wasn't expecting that!" Rich added.

The Emerald city was huge and grand; the light shining off of it making the whole place look like it was made of actual emeralds. Slowly, but surely, Rich lowered the Comet's altitude until it skimmed the tallest roof-tops of the city. The view from this height was breath-taking. Rich, Glinda and Elphaba could all see the streets below in detail, despite the Comet's high speed.

It took a while to find the runway that the Wizard had built, but when they did, Rich gasped. The runway was perfect in every way, a long ribbon of yellow tarmac that stretched out in a central part of the Emerald city with enough room all around to make a shallow descent before landing and shallow climb out after take-off.

There was also a large parking area aligned with one end of the runway and would only be a short walk from there to the Emerald City Palace. A large crowd of people had already gathered and Rich, Elphaba and Glinda noticed this.

"Well then, let's not mess this up." Rich said to both himself and Elphaba and Glinda.

"Shall we take our seats for landing?" Glinda asked.

"Yes" Rich replied.

Both Elphaba and Glinda took their seats in the cockpit as Rich began the final descent to land in the Emerald city. Lower and Lower the Comet flew and making several tight turns, the Comet finally was aligned with the runway and approaching fast.

"Elphaba, could you reach over and grab the checklist book, turn it to landing checklist and read it to me so I can concentrate on landing?" Rich called out to Elphaba.

"Where is it?" Elphaba asked.

"Should be just behind my seat on the left" Rich replied.

Elphaba then reached out and grabbed the Checklist book which Rich had written himself, opened the book at the correct checklist and said,

"Ready when you are Rich"

Rich just nodded at this, so Elphaba took this as her cue to start reading.

"Lights?" She asked, whilst reading from the book.

Rich immediately flicked several switches on the cockpit's overhead panel before he said

"All lights are on"

"Speed below 300 knots?"

Rich drew back the throttles and as the Comet slowed down he replied "Speed down to below 300 knots"

"Pressurisation?"

"Off"

"Flaps set for landing?"

Rich pulled back the flap extension lever all the way to the fully extended position.

"Maximum flaps are set"

"Gear?"

Rich moved the landing gear lever down and the sound of electrical motors could be heard before three loud clunks were heard and the green landing gear down lights glowed on.

"Gear is down and locked" He replied.

"Trim?"

Rich pulled back a wheel on his side of the cockpit until he was satisfied.

"Set" He replied.

"Then landing checklist is complete." Elphaba said in a relieved tone of voice.

"How did you manage to come up with and write all of that during the weeks you were flight testing the Comet?" Glinda asked.

"Trial and Error Glinda, Trial and Error" Rich replied, which made Glinda and Elphaba gulp nervously.

Now the Comet was approaching the runway at what seemed like a much higher speed but Elphaba and Glinda both guessed that it was just their nerves, this was their first flight in the Comet after all.

Slowly the Comet descended even further and just before touchdown, Rich pulled back the control column gently, making the nose of the Comet rise slightly before the Comet's main landing gear landed with a thud which shook the entire airframe. The Nose of the Comet then lowered until it too touched the runway, it was then that Rich applied the brakes. Slowly, but with Rapid urgency, the Comet slowed down until it was at a fast walking pace. It was at this speed that Rich turned off the runway and taxied the Comet over to the parking area that He, Elphaba and Glinda had seen from the air.

Once Rich taxied over to an appropriate spot, he stopped the aircraft, applied the parking brake and shut down the engines. Once the engines wound down to a stop, all Elphaba, Rich and Glinda could hear were their own breathing and the thunderous applause and cheering from the gathered crowd outside the parking area.

All three of them just sat there in the silent Cockpit for a long moment before Glinda got up and said,

"Well, let's go. We've got a lot of people to meet and the entire emerald city to explore!"

And at that, Elphaba, Rich and Glinda got up and walked out of the cockpit, down the extendable ladder and into the Emerald city.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Wicked Comet part 8**_

(A.N, just as a warning to you, this chapter follows the script closely for the majority)

Elphaba, Rich and Glinda had been in the emerald city for at least 6 hours now. After interviews with the local news outlets and shaking hands with the ordinary populace, the trio had gone into the Emerald city to explore. The Emerald city was a wondrous place, full of buildings as tall as Quoxwood trees, Dress Salons, Libraries, Palaces and Museums a hundred strong. It was grand and all green. Elphaba, Rich and Glinda all felt as if they had found the place where they belonged. The trio even went to see the hit musical Wizomania!

Right now Rich, Elphaba and Glinda were inside the Wizard's palace, waiting to go inside the throne room and meet the wonderful wizard of Oz! They were all terrified, it was understandable.

Rich was carrying a bag full of plans, drawings and Notes for the Comet and every component that was built into the aircraft as well as instructions on how to build more Comets, notes on what would be needed to operate them and a copy of the operational handbook. A sort of "How to fly the Comet" book was what the operational handbook was.

Glinda and Elphaba were sitting on either side of Rich. Elphaba, on noticing Rich's tension, gave him a quick squeeze of the hand in a comforting gesture which Rich smiled at and returned to say that he was ok.

"We're meeting the Wizard!" Glinda squealed in excitement.

"Aye, that we are" Rich replied.

"I mean, once we step through that door, our lives will be changed for the better. Elphie, you'll become the Wizard's right hand witch, Rich, you'll be building Comets and operating them all over Oz by the time you're 35!" Glinda continued.

"That is if, the Wizard approves of me and my supposed magical talents and Rich's designs for the Comet." Elphaba warned.

Glinda was about to reply when the doors to the throne room opened slightly and a guard said to the trio,

"The Wizard will see you now"

Elphaba, Glinda and Rich all bolted up to their feet and slowly strode into the throne room with the guard exiting the room and closing the doors behind them.

The throne room was a huge space, richly decorated and there were quite a few candles lighting up the space. On the other side of the throne room was a massive golden coloured mechanical head on top of the wizard's throne. The head seemed to be out of action at the moment.

Elphaba, Glinda and Rich were all confused at this. Rich decided to move closer and find out what the Head was doing there in the Wizard's throne room. But as he did so, the Head burst into life with electrical lights switching on and off at random and smoke filling the room! Rich leapt back in surprise, only to be stopped from falling flat on his back by Elphaba, who helped Rich to his feet.

The Head spoke in a loud, heavily distorted voice which shook the room and Elphaba, Glinda and Rich to their bones.

"I AM OZ, THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE! WHO ARE YOU AND WHY DO YOU SEEK ME?" the Head boomed.

"Say something!" Glinda said to both Elphaba and Rich.

"Uh... Elphaba Thropp your terribleness!" Elphaba said to the Head.

"And I am Richmond Thropp, I prefer to be called Rich though" Rich replied.

The Head stopped moving and a normal and distinctly human voice but not with any normal Ozian accent spoke out from behind the Head.

"Oh? Is that you Elphaba, Rich? I didn't realize!"

The light and smoke cut off and the head moved about slightly before it returned to its resting position.

As it did so, a human figure stumbled out of the head, coughing and waving away smoke. Once the smoke cleared, he spoke again.

"I hope I didn't startle you, it's so hard to make out peoples' faces all the way back there. So, let's see... which is which?" He said as he tried to figure out which of the three friends was which.

Then he saw Elphaba and cried out in joy "Elphaba! And you must be…" he trailed off as he saw Glinda.

"Glinda. The Ga is silent." Glinda replied.

Rich just stood there in wonder, the Wizard an inventor just like him? That confused him greatly and Rich didn't like being confused, not one bit.

The Wizard then turned to see Rich and his face broke into a smile so wide, Elphaba, Glinda and Rich all thought he would tear his own face in half!

"And you are the famous Rich! The designer and Pilot of the Comet!" The Wizard said in Joy.

"It is an honour sir." Rich replied.

"It is an honour for me too" The Wizard said to Rich.

Rich gave a confused expression and the Wizard continued talking,

"A like-minded person other than myself who made major advancements to make Oz better for all!"

Rich agreed with this, just then Elphaba touched the Head in amazement.

"I know. It isn't much, is it? But people expect this sort of thing. You have to give people what they want. The thing is, I hardly ever let people meet the real me, but this being special occasion." The Wizard said to Elphaba.

"We are all so happy to meet you" Elphaba replied.

The Wizard chuckled to himself before he spoke again,

"Well, that's good. Cause that's what I love best: making people happy!"

He then explained that he was a sentimental man who always wanted to be a father, so he did the best he could to treat the Citizens of Oz like his own children.

He then said how he would like to help to raise Elphaba and Rich high; because he thought everyone deserves the chance to fly, both figuratively and literally.

Once he had finished, Elphaba tried to tell the Wizard about the crisis involving the Animals.

"Please, I'm the Wizard of Oz. I already know why you've come." He replied to Elphaba.

"Oooo" Elphaba and Glinda said in amazement, Rich's eyes widened in surprise.

"But first you must prove yourself" The Wizard then said, directed at Elphaba.

"How?" Elphaba asked. 

"Oh, I don't know" The wizard admitted as he thought.

Then he had a brainwave as he said "I know!" to Elphaba, then he shouted off into a nearby corridor.

"MADAME! THE BOOK!"


	9. Chapter 9

_**Wicked Comet part 9**_

It had all turned out to be an utter disaster, just after Morrible (to the utter amazement of Elphaba, Rich and Glinda) had brought out the book of spells which turned out to be the famous Grimmerie; Elphaba cast a levitation spell on the Wizard's monkey servant Chistery after a suggestion from Morrible.

Elphaba cast the spell, using strange language that Rich and Glinda had never heard before!

"What is she saying?" Glinda whispered to Rich.

"No idea, my specialty is inventions not spells" Rich replied.

As Elphaba finished the spell, Chistery leapt from the bookshelf he was resting on and began writhing on the floor scratching at his back and crying out in pain!

"SWEET OZ!" Rich yelled out as he raced over to Chistery with Elphaba already there.

Just as Rich moved over to Chistery, he sprouted wings! This action caused Rich to leap back in surprise.

"How do I reverse it?" Elphaba asked in alarm.

"You can't!" Morrible replied.

"What?!" Elphaba and Rich both exclaimed.

"You can't! Spells are irreversible!" Morrible replied and to the Wizard she said "I knew she had the power, I told you!"

"You planned all this?!" Elphaba exclaimed, she was on surprised and borderline furious and Rich was close behind.

"Well you benefit too Dearie, you too" Morrible said to Elphaba.

"And this is only the beginning. Look!" The Wizard said in glee as he raced to one of the sides of the Metal head and pulled a lever. A mechanism whirred to reveal dozens upon dozens of cages all filled with monkeys that had grown wings!

"Oh OZ!" Rich gasped.

"Won't they make perfect spies?" Morrible said to the Wizard.

"Spies?!" Elphaba said in surprise and borderline anger.

"You're right, that's a harsh word... how about scouts? That's what they'll be really. They'll fly around Oz! Report any subversive Animal activity." The Wizard added calmly, appearing to correct Morrible.

Rich took a moment to look at the still open Grimmerie and back to the Wizard, but Rich couldn't read the mysterious magical text.

"You can't read this at all. Can you?" Elphaba accused the Wizard.

"Exactly... that's why I need you. Don't you see? The world is your oyster, now! You have so many...opportunities. You three all do." The Wizard replied, still trying to convince Elphaba and Rich to join him.

Elphaba and Rich both stared at the Wizard in disgust and then glanced at each other for a long moment. A silent communication passed between them.

Without warning, Elphaba and Rich both sprinted off in different directions, Rich back towards the Airfield and Elphaba running deeper into the castle all the while shouting "NO!"

Rich burst of the palace gates and sprinted as fast as he could through the streets of the Emerald City, some of the citizens staring at him in confusion, but their confusion was quickly dashed by the sight of a whole contingent of Gale Forcers charging after Rich, all of them armed to the teeth!

One of them fired a rifle at Rich in an attempt to wound him but that shot went wide and shattered a nearby window, just missing Rich by millimetres! Undeterred by this, Rich kept on running and finally arrived at the airfield. The Comet was still there, from the looks of it, the plane hadn't been sabotaged. Rich couldn't afford to wait to find out so when he reached the Comet, he leapt up the boarding ladders, retracted the ladders and closed the door.

He quickly dashed to the cockpit, strapped himself into his seat and began the rapid start procedure; Rich had devised this in case of emergencies that required the Comet be airborne ASAP. Rich had never actually gotten to use this practice much as it often required he service the engines whenever he used it.

As he pressed the ignition switches for Engines 1 and 4 he saw a small black shape on top of the Wizard's palace which wasn't far from the airfield.

"That must be Elphaba" Rich thought aloud as he continued the engine start. With surprising speed, numbers 1 and 4 engines howled into life, quickly followed by 2 and 3. Releasing the brakes, Rich forced the throttles open as he turned the Comet quite sharply around to face the runway.

He quickly deployed the flaps for take-off and gave the engines full power. The Comet's four Ghost Jet Engines screeched as they forced the plane forwards faster and faster down the runway. Gale Force guards, some with horses towing carts, moved to block the runway but Rich kept his cool and continued the take-off. Several Guards fired their rifles in an attempt to damage the Comet whilst others fired crossbows and others even threw spears! But the Comet was going too fast for the Gale Force troops to get an accurate hit on the aircraft.

Slowly the nose rose and the Comet roared into the air, retracting the gear and flaps within moments as Rich forced the Comet into a sharp turn back towards the Palace. Rich saw the black shape get closer and closer as the Comet climbed and gained speed. It was definitely Elphaba and she seemed to be flying on…. Was that a broom? Elphaba turned to see the Comet pass by and she forced the broom to move, climbing and accelerating with the Comet.

Together, Elphaba and Rich flew side by side in their respective aircraft, soaring high above the Emerald City and off towards the west.

Rich slowed the Comet down so Elphaba could keep up with the plane. She pulled alongside the Cockpit and that was how they flew for a while before both were forced to land due to exhaustion. Rich then lit a campfire a little distance from the Comet while Elphaba found some Roots and Vegetables nearby.

As they ate, Rich couldn't help but feel vulnerable, he didn't like going anywhere and doing anything without a solid plan in place.

"So Elphie, what are we going to do now?" Rich sounded both tired and concerned.

Elphaba looked at Rich and saw the worried expression on his face and the bags under his eyes. She sighed before saying,

"Honestly, I don't know Rich. I just don't know. What I do know is that the Wizard's days in power are numbered"

Rich couldn't help but agree with that.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Wicked Comet part 10**_

 **5 years later**

Oz had changed greatly ever since Elphaba and Rich "Defied Gravity" and escaped the Emerald City. All of the citizens were on alert for the sight of the Wicked Witch of the West and the Wicked Comet and its pilot. The Citizens of Oz were sceptical of Rich being wicked, since he had invented the wondorous Comet for Oz's benefit. They all chose to believe that Rich had been hypnotised by the Wicked Witch and was working for her against his will.

Rich and Elphaba had changed themselves; both of them had joined an underground resistance group fighting the wizard. They had worked tirelessly for these last five years and had become quite famous amongst the resistance's members.

Before Rich had joined, he had made the resistance's leaders promise not to use the Comet for any Combat purposes, only for transport and reconnaissance. In that role, the Comet proved extremely valuable to the resistance. For example, when the Resistance had attacked and liberated an Animal forced labour camp, Elphaba had assisted the troops in liberating the camp but they found that most of the animals were so badly sick, malnourished and injured, that they couldn't make it all the way back to the resistance's main camp by themselves, so Rich had been sent for and he landed the Comet in a nearby field and the sick, wounded and malnourished Animals were loaded onto the Comet and Rich flew them back to the main camp.

Rich also used his creative talents to invent gadgets to help those that needed it. Things like makeshift replacement limbs and Bullets that could be fired out of a normal weapon and looked like bullets but when the bullet hit a person, it shattered and released a Blue Gas that could knock out anyone that inhaled the gas for 3 hours. Most of the time however, Rich had worked on improving the Comet. The plane had been in the air more hours than it had been on the ground for most of the five years that Rich and Elphaba had worked with the resistance and lots of its parts needed fixing or modifying constantly.

When Elphaba had mentioned her concerns about how much work Rich was doing repairing the Comet, he had said,

"Well, the Comet is getting much more thorough testing than it ever would have under the wizard"

One evening, Rich was working on the Landing Gear when Elphaba came strolling down a dusty path in the middle of the rebel encampment and came across the covered space where the Comet was hidden. She saw Rich working on the aircraft and called out to him,

"Rich, What are you doing?" she said curiously.

Rich immediately stopped what he was doing and looked out towards Elphaba.

"Ah Elphie, I've just been working on the Landing Gear shock absorbers, they took a beating on the last mission and I have just had to replace them" Rich said.

Elphaba was silent as Rich said this and it took Rich a moment to realise something was up.

"Is something wrong?" Rich asked concern in his voice.

Elphaba sighed before she said,

"I've been thinking. The Resistance has made a lot of progress ever since we joined. But, because of the Comets increasing use and the resources it needs and the extra people here. I have a feeling we are going to need more help to keep us supplied and to take down the Wizard."

"But who?" Rich asked.

"My dad, he's the governor of Munchkinland. I know he doesn't like me very much but maybe I can persuade him to help us" Elphaba replied.

"Are you sure about this?" Rich asked in a worried tone.

Elphaba nodded and Rich knew that she was definitely sure of what she wanted to do.

"Alright, I'll fire up the Comet as soon as I have completed the Landing Gear Mods" Rich said to Elphaba.

Elphaba nodded and strode off to her tent and changed into a black dress that was tightish around her arms and torso and flared out near the bottom. It also looked like it had spider silk all over it, making it look like the dress had some other darker colours on it. On the back, a black cape that felt like satin but was much stronger and on top of Elphaba's head was her infamous witch's hat.

Rich changed inside the Comet into a black pair of trousers, black boots a black shirt and a black greatcoat. Inside the Greatcoat, Rich carried both his glasses when not in use and in the other pocket he carried a powerful revolver loaded with the knockout gas bullets, plus a small box full of extra bullets just in case.

Once they were both changed and the Comet was filled to the brim with fuel, Elphaba took off on her broom towards Munchkinland and Rich followed a few moments later in the Comet.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Wicked Comet part 11**_

Rich cursed loudly to himself as he finished replacing parts of the hydraulic lines on the Comet's flight controls. He had to abandon the flight to Munchkinland with Elphaba after an indicator light alerting Rich to a fault in the Hydraulic system had lit up. Rich could fly the Comet without the hydraulics but it would be much harder to fly so he had returned to the Camp and found a hydraulic line had burst, taking out several electrical components with it. Rich had gone as quickly as he could but the repairs still took several hours to do.

As Rich closed up the inspection hatch, he strode back over to the Cockpit and after pumping aboard some extra fuel; he fired up the Comet's engines and took off for the second time that day. But as he took off, he heard Elphaba's voice through the radio,

"Rich, are you there?"

"Roger Elphie, what's up?" Rich replied.

"Things took a turn for the worse at Colwyn Grounds. My dad's dead and Nessa is in control of Munchkinland. I tried to get help from Nessa and I enabled her to walk but it all went wrong! Boq was there and when he said that he loved Glinda, Nessa got so mad, she cast a spell on him which went wrong and I had to turn him into a creature that could live without a heart to save his life! Nessa probably hates me even more now and Boq will be after revenge now." Elphaba said to Rich, she was obviously very upset from what Rich could hear over the radio.

"You alright now?" Rich asked.

"Physically yes, but emotionally No." Elphaba replied.

Both flew on in silence for a long moment before Rich asked "So, what's the plan now?"

"I'm going to set the monkeys in the Emerald city free" was Elphaba's reply.

"NO! Elphaba, you can't do that! The gale force will find you, capture you and do Oz knows what to you!" Rich said to Elphaba in shock.

"I know, but at least I will be able to do some good" Elphaba replied calmly.

Rich soon realised that Elphaba was right and he made a quick decision.

"Alright, but I am coming with you. I'll circle round the city at high altitude and warn you of any trouble that I see" He said to Elphaba through the radio.

"You sure?" Elphaba asked.

"Yes. I am sure. Don't worry; the Comet won't have another hydraulic leak. I hope." Rich replied.

Elphaba didn't sound convinced when she replied with,

"Ok, but just be careful Rich"

"I always am" was Rich's reply before he turned the Comet towards the Emerald city.

It took just under an hour for the Comet to make the flight to the Emerald City and when it arrived, Rich guided it into a high altitude circling pattern over the Emerald City.

As the Comet circled over the city, Rich thought he could see Elphaba as she snuck her way into the Wizard's palace.

"Ok, I'm in" Elphaba whispered into the radio.

"Roger, I hear you" Rich replied.

Elphaba snuck her way into the Wizard's throne room and came across the Wizard head, which was powered down and facing away from her. Elphaba immediately made her way over to the head and started searching for the lever which would release the flying monkeys.

"Do you have any idea which lever it is that releases the monkeys?" Elphaba asked through the radio, after a few minutes of searching.

"My memory is as good as yours after 5 years" Rich replied.

"Thanks for the help" Elphaba said sarcastically.

"Any time" Rich replied sarcastically.

As the cousins were exchanging sarcastic banter (and Elphaba being distracted), the wizard snuck his way past the head and spoke directly into the microphone which made the wizard head's booming voice!

"I knew you would be back!" the voice boomed.

Elphaba whirled around in surprise and Rich had to tear out his radio earpiece to stop himself getting hearing damage from the sharp feedback of Elphaba's radio earpiece microphone being close to the Wizard's head.

When Rich put the earpiece back in again, he could hear the Wizard trying to convince Elphaba to join him!

"Can you believe this loon?" Rich heard Elphaba whisper into the radio.

"Makes me want to barf" Rich replied.

Elphaba had to stop herself from cackling at Rich's comment.

But as time wore on, Elphaba felt like what the wizard was saying was actually quite logical and she was actually beginning to think that joining the Wizard wouldn't be such a bad thing after all!

"I'll accept your proposition" Elphaba said to the Wizard.

"Don't do this Elphaba!" Rich warned through the radio but Elphaba ignored him.

"Wonderful!" the Wizard Exclaimed in joy, but was quickly cut off by Elphaba's next statement.

"ON ONE CONDITION" Elphaba said in a serious tone. 

"Yes?" the Wizard asked. 

"Elphaba's actually going to join that scoundrel?!" Rich thought to himself.

"You set those Monkeys free!" Elphaba said to the Wizard in a commanding tone.

The Wizard took a moment to consider this ultimatum from Elphaba as he strode over to the Wizard Head's controls.

"Done!" the Wizard said to Elphaba as he pulled the lever which released the monkeys from their cages.

Cage doors immediately unlocked and from Rich's high position in the Comet, he could see a cloud of flying monkeys flying out of the Wizard's palace.

"The Monkeys have left the building" Rich said to Elphaba through the radio.

There was a moment of silence before Elphaba's shriek of pure anger was heard on the radio and Rich asked in a worried tone,

"Elphaba, what's going on?"

"They have Doctor Dillamond, he…. He can't speak anymore. He's an animal now." Elphaba replied.

"Sweet Oz!" Rich exclaimed.

The Wizard, whilst Elphaba was talking to Rich on the radio, sprinted to the Wizard's head and activated its powerful voice mechanism.

"GUARDS! GUARDS!" the head's booming voice roared.

"ELPHABA, GET OUT OF THERE!" Rich shouted into the radio.


	12. Chapter 12

_**Wicked Comet part 12**_

(A.N this chapter is script reliant for the most; I may modify some quotes from the script in this chapter too)

Several of the Wizard's guards burst into the throne room, brandishing weapons that could easily cut through flesh like a knife through butter!

"ELPHABA, GET OUT OF THERE!" Rich shouted again through the radio.

Elphaba backed away from the guards and was about to take flight on her broom, when the guards surrounded her!

Glancing around herself to check for any possible methods of escape and when she did, she saw Fiyero dressed in the uniform of the captain of the guard!

"Are you alright your Ozness?" Fiyero asked the Wizard whilst pointing the rifle he held at Elphaba.

"Is that Fiyero?" Rich exclaimed through the radio.

Elphaba ignored him however as she exclaimed,

"Fiyero!"

"I don't believe it…." Fiyero said in surprise.

Elphaba started forwards towards Fiyero whilst saying,

"Oh, Fiyero, thank God. I thought you were..."

But she was cut off and forced back by Fiyero's reply,

"Silence witch!"

"That was hurtful" Rich commented through the radio.

One of the guards said "There's a goat on the lam sir!"

"Never mind that, Fetch me some water" Fiyero ordered.

"Water sir?" another guard asked.

"You heard me, as much as you can carry" Fiyero ordered.

The guards saluted Fiyero and said loudly,

"YES SIR!" before they sprinted out of the throne room.

"Fiyero…" Elphaba started, unsure of what to say before Fiyero cut her off again.

"I said Silence!" Fiyero shouted.

Fiyero then moved behind the wizard head, where the wizard was hiding, and dragged him from behind the head!

The Wizard cried out,

"NO, NO!" before Fiyero threw the wizard down at the foot of the wizard head and pointed his rifle at the Wizard.

"Don't make a sound, your Ozness, unless you want all your guests to know the truth about the Wonderful Wizard of Oz" Fiyero warned the Wizard in a threatening tone.

And then to Elphaba, Fiyero said "Elphaba, I'll find Doctor Dillamond later, now get out of here."

"Fiyero, you frightened me. I thought, I thought you might have changed." Elphaba said to Fiyero.

"I have changed" Fiyero admitted.

It was at this moment that Glinda, dressed in a beautiful sparkly silver ballgown came darting into the room.

"What's going on...? Elphie? Oh, thank Oz you're alive! Only you shouldn't have come. If anyone discoverates you ..." Glinda said before she trailed off mid-sentence as she noticed Elphaba and darted over to embrace her friend.

"Glinda, you'd better go." Fiyero said to Glinda. 

"Fiyero, what are you..." Glinda asked after finishing her embrace with Elphaba, not quite understanding what Fiyero was saying.

"Please, just go back to the ball." Fiyero said to Glinda in a desperate tone. 

"Your Ozness, he means no disrespectation. Please understand! You see, we all went to school together..." Glinda said to the Wizard after she noticed him on the ground, leaning against the wizard head. 

"Elphaba!" Fiyero said to Elphaba urgently whilst gesturing to the exit. Glinda noticed this and exclaimed, 

"Fiyero, have you misplaced your mind? What are you doing?"

 **"** I'm going with her." Fiyero said calmly, as if he had planned this for a long time.

"What?" Glinda Exclaimed.

"What?" Elphaba exclaimed, just as surprised as Glinda.

"WHAT?" Rich exclaimed loudly through the radio, which made Elphaba curse under her breath, which thankfully no-one noticed.

"What? What are you saying? You mean all this time... the two of you... behind my back..." Glinda stuttered.

"No, Glinda it wasn't like that!" Elphaba tried to say but Fiyero interrupted with,

"Actually, it was...but it wasn't...Elphaba, let's go... let's go!" and at that, Fiyero grabbed Elphaba's hand and they both sprinted out of the room.

Once the two had climbed onto the roof, Elphaba and Fiyero both climbed onto the Broom and they took off into the night.

"Rich, I have Fiyero with me, meet us at the forest rendezvous point" Elphaba said into the radio.

"Roger" was Rich's response.

"Who are you talking to?" Fiyero asked Elphaba.

"Rich" was Elphaba's reply.

"Where is Rich?" Fiyero asked Elphaba.

"Oh, he was circling the Emerald City this whole time in the Comet since before you entered the room and found me and the wizard" Elphaba replied.

"He was?" Fiyero asked in astonishment.

"Rich can fly the Comet very stealthily when he needs to" Elphaba replied.

They flew on for a long while until Elphaba landed the broom in the very clearing where she and Rich had stopped to rest the day they "Defied Gravity"

Rich had already landed there and had started a small campfire for light and warmth, whilst he refuelled the Comet with the supplies that he had hidden in the clearing if he ever returned there with the Comet.

"Ah, I was wondering when you two would get here" Rich called out to them as Elphaba and Fiyero joined him next to the campfire.

As Elphaba and Fiyero sat down next to each other, Rich got out some tins of beans from a crate that he had stored in the Comet and began cooking them on the fire.

Fiyero and Elphaba both couldn't believe they were together at last. But both knew that they would have to make their time together fast since there was a chance of one of them dying since the Gale Force would probably be hunting for them as they sat there.

Elphaba looked away from Fiyero and smiled to herself.

"What is it?" Fiyero asked.

Elphaba turned back to Fiyero and said softly,

"It's just…. For the first time, i feel….. WICKED!"

Elphaba then pulled Fiyero into a passionate kiss.

Rich respectfully averted his eyes from the kissing lovebirds and smiled to himself.

Rich was truly happy for his cousin and hoped that she would have a long and happy life with Fiyero.

Once Fiyero and Elphaba had stopped kissing, they held each other close, neither willing to let the other go.

"I just wish..." Elphaba said quietly. 

"What?" Fiyero asked. 

"I wish I could be beautiful... for you." Elphaba replied softly. 

"Elphaba..." Fiyero began before Elphaba cut him off. 

"Don't tell me that I am, you don't need to lie to me." Elphaba said.

 **"** It's not lying! It's... uh... it's looking at things another way. Someday, you and Glinda will make up and we'll all..." Fiyero said, trying to comfort Elphaba.

But before Fiyero could finish his sentence, Elphaba suddenly pulled away from Fiyero and sat bolt upright, her eyes wide with fear!


	13. Chapter 13

_**Wicked Comet part 13**_

"Elphaba, are you alright?" Fiyero and Rich asked at the same time before Elphaba shushed them.

"Shh! Listen... Do you hear that? It sounds like somebody in pain!" Elphaba said to Rich and Fiyero.

"It's probably just the wind" Fiyero said to Elphaba in a comforting tone.

"You're probably just stressed after what has happened" Rich added. 

Elphaba would have none of it however as she continued to stare into space, an expression of fear on her face.

"My sister's in danger!" Elphaba exclaimed.

"What? How do you know?" Fiyero asked.

"Elphaba has these visions now and then; they often turn out to be true. They've saved our backsides multiple times over the years" Rich explained. 

Elphaba then gasped in pure fear!

"Elphaba what's wrong, what is it?" Fiyero asked in concern.

"Don't you see it?" Elphaba asked, as if what she was seeing was obvious.

"What do you mean? What do you see?" Fiyero asked.

Elphaba narrowed her eyes in confusion as she concentrated on her vision.

"It doesn't make any sense... It's a house but it's... it's flying through the sky? I have to go to Nessa!" She said.

"I'll go with you" Fiyero volunteered.

"No, you mustn't, it's too dangerous!" Elphaba protested, not wanting to put the man she loved in danger.

"Listen to me, listen! My family has a castle in Kiamo Ko. Now, no one is ever there except for the sentries who watch over it. We've never lived there." Fiyero suggested.

"So where do you live?" Elphaba asked, confused.

"In the other castle" Fiyero replied in a tone that said what he was saying was completely obvious to all, before Rich Spoke.

"That was supposed to be obvious?" Rich asked aloud but Fiyero ignored him as he continued speaking to Elphaba,

"It's the perfect hiding place; tunnels, secret passageways. You and Rich will be safe there."

"We will see each other again, won't we?" Elphaba asked worriedly.

"Elphaba, we are going to be together always." Fiyero reassured her.

Rich, by this time had gotten up and was striding over to the Comet after putting out the fire.

"Elphaba, I'll take Fiyero up in the Comet and attempt to intercept the house in the tornado. Whilst we do that, you can go and protect Nessa" Rich said to Elphaba.

Elphaba seemed hesitant at first until Rich said "The Comet's been through just as much hell as we have. I'm sure it can handle a storm"

Elphaba nodded, still not fully convinced, and hugged Fiyero tightly and kissed him passionately goodbye before she took off on her broom in her race against the storm.

A few minutes later, Rich and Fiyero took off in the Comet and flew the aircraft as fast as it would allow in order to intercept the storm.

Climbing high over Oz, the Comet zoomed over the Emerald City and soon the aircraft was in Munchkinland and penetrating the edges of the storm.

"You might want to hold on tight Fiyero, this is going to be a bumpy ride!" Rich warned as the Comet entered the storm and immediately hit a strong bout of turbulence.

The delicate and high performance aircraft was flung about like a toy as merciless winds blasted at the aircraft's thin aluminium skin. The four Ghost Jet Engines were working overtime in-order to keep the Comet flying!

"you're going to rip the Comet apart!" Fiyero shouted over the noise of the storm.

"Nah, the Comet's been through storms like this before, it can take it." Rich shouted back as he struggled with the Comet's flight controls to keep the powerful aircraft flying. Another powerful jolt sent the Comet lurching so hard that anything not secured down (which wasn't much) flying everywhere!

Fiyero had to use one of the Comet's emergency sick bags since the motions were so violent. Eventually though, the Comet finally flew into the heart of the storm. And yes there was a house, not unlike the many farmhouses you would see in Munchkinland flying in the middle of the tornado.

"Ok Elphaba, I see the house. Bloomin Eck it's huge!" Rich shouted into the radio over the noise of the storm.

"Is there anything you can see otherwise about the house?" Elphaba asked.

"Not that I can see!" Rich replied but as he said this, he caught a glimpse of movement in one of the Houses upper Windows!

"Hold that thought Elphie. I see something" Rich shouted as he opened the Comet's throttles open a little bit more in order to get closer to the house.

The brilliant silver aircraft moved closer and closer until Rich saw something that shocked him greatly.

"THERE'S SOMEONE ALIVE IN THERE!" Rich exclaimed. But as he said this, part of the houses framework flew off and was sucked towards the Comet!

Rich saw this and attempted to avoid the projectile but the huge fragment of wood splintered and was sucked into engines three and four, shredding the delicate parts inside and the cores of both engines exploded shaking the Comet even more violently than the storm!

"Crap." Rich said aloud, trying to calm himself down as he immediately cut off all fuel and power to the damaged engines three and four whilst deploying the fire extinguishers.

"ELPHABA, I'M IN TROUBLE HERE!" Rich shouted to Elphaba over the radio.

"What is it?" Elphaba asked over the radio, fear in her voice.

"Debris has come off the house and has wrecked engines three and four. I've shut the engines down but I will have to put the Comet on the ground immediately!" Rich replied.

"Do what you have to Rich, just don't get yourself or Fiyero hurt. I couldn't forgive myself if anything happened." Elphaba said back.

"Don't worry about us. We'll be fine" Rich replied.

As Elphaba was about to reply, the Comet's radio suddenly failed!

"Dammit!" Rich cursed.

"What's going on?" Fiyero asked.

"radio's gone. We have no contact with Elphaba." Rich replied simply.

Fiyero looked terrified before he took a deep breath and said as calmly as he could,

"We had best land immediately before anything else breaks"

"That's what we are doing. It might be a very bumpy ride though. Hang on tight" Rich replied, and so began Rich's desperate attempt to Land the damaged Comet.


	14. Chapter 14

_**Wicked Comet part 14**_

The Comet slowly began to descend out of the storm, smoke pouring out of the right wing due to the destroyed engines number 3 and 4. The Controls had partially jammed too and the Comet seemed to want to keep turning right so Rich had a very hard time keeping the jet in the air.

Fiyero had joined Rich in the Co-pilot's seat and even with his help, the Comet was becoming even more difficult to control by the minute.

Rich was also trying to re-establish contact with Elphaba through the radio but all attempts failed.

"The radio antenna must have been damaged by debris from the house" Rich thought to himself.

The Comet continued its descent and slowly but surely, the Comet exited the storm and the fields of Munchkinland became visible from the Comet's windshield. Those fields were approaching fast!

"We're descending too fast!" Fiyero exclaimed.

Rich pulled back on the control column but there was very little response!

What Rich didn't know was that the elevators had been partially jammed by pieces of debris from the house.

"Ah, we've got hardly any pitch control. Looks like we are going to have to have a bumpy landing" Rich said to Fiyero as calmly as he could but failing.

Rich then pulled the landing gear lever down in preparation for landing. The gear didn't extend!

Rich had built in a back-up gear extension powered by gravity for such an eventuality, so he activated that.

Even though the both landing gear extension systems were working, the landing gear doors had been jammed shut by several massive dents caused by debris from the house and even the powerful electrical motors used for lifting and lowering the landing gear couldn't shift them.

"Oz-dammit! The Gear's jammed. Looks like we're going to have to have a controlled crash!" Rich cursed loudly.

"Well then manage it! We're about to hit the deck!" Fiyero yelled back.

Rich immediately gave one last mighty heave on the control column and the Comet leveled out and pitched up slightly but still continued to descend. The ground was approaching fast and just before impact, Rich shut down the Still Working engines 1 and 2 and deployed their fire extinguishers to avoid any post-impact fire.

Both Rich and Fiyero tightened their seatbelts and braced themselves. The Comet landed tail first with the nose 5 degrees in the air with a massive force that sent a powerful jolt through the entire airframe as it suddenly lost speed and the nose connected with the ground. The Comet slid at high speed across the farmland and Rich managed to use the Comet's undamaged braking parachute and the rudder in order to increase the deceleration rate and to keep the Comet in a straight line. It seemed like an eternity but finally, the Comet lurched to a halt in a massive cloud of dirt and metallic noise. Rich and Fiyero were thrown forward by the impact but were caught by their seat harnesses which pulled them back into their seats.

There was utter silence around the Comet and inside the aircraft for some time until Fiyero groaned,

"Ugh my head!"

Rich was not feeling much better himself but he pushed those feelings aside as he unbuckled his seat belt and helped Fiyero with his.

"C'mon, we need to get out of here before the fuel goes up!" Rich said urgently as both himself and Fiyero climbed out of their seats, grabbing their respective firearms and ammunition as they climbed out of the crashed Comet.

Once outside, Fiyero whistled loudly,

"Whew, the Comet is really smashed up"

Fiyero was right; the Comet had ploughed a massive trail through some unfortunate farmer's field and had severely damaged parts of the airframe. Overall, it was highly unlikely that the Comet, Oz's first powered aircraft would ever fly again.

Rich looked extremely upset at the loss of one of his greatest achievements but he held back his tears as he stood up to his full height and said,

"First and foremost, we've got to find Elphaba"

"Sounds like a plan" Fiyero replied and at that, the two men set off through the cornfield that the Comet had crashed in. Whilst moving, Rich loaded his ex Ozian Army mk1 revolver with his special knockout gas bullets and Fiyero loaded his Gale Force Eagleshot service rifle with conventional ammo.

Cornfields are a very expansive bunch and Rich and Fiyero had a hard time navigating through them. That was until they both saw the angled roof of the very house that had wrecked the Comet!

"So that was where the house landed" Rich thought aloud.

The sounds of metal clashing against metal and boots stomping met both Rich and Fiyero's ears and the sounds of Elphaba and Glinda shrieking at each-other!

Both men sprinted as fast as they could to the edge of the cornfield and through the gaps in the plants, they could see that Elphaba had been restrained by several gale forcers and Glinda was standing nearby.

"I can't believe you would sink this low! To use my sister's death as a trap to capture me?!" Elphaba spat at Glinda.

"Nessa is dead?!" Rich exclaimed.

Fiyero however wasn't listening and swung right into the clearing on a rope attached to the house!

"LET THE GREEN GIRL GO!" Fiyero shouted at the Gale forcers.

Rich face palmed as he saw Fiyero's sheer stupidity first hand.

"Looks like it's up to me to sort out this mess" Rich said to himself as he snuck around the clearing, using the corn plants as cover until he was behind Glinda, (who was wearing a sparkly silver dress that looked like a bubble, Rich thought that Glinda looked very beautiful in that dress). Once behind her and was sure that she wasn't looking behind her, Rich snuck out from his hiding spot and without warning, he wrapped his left arm around Glinda's throat and pressed the barrel of his revolver into Glinda's back.

"Don't worry, just be calm" Rich whispered into Glinda's ear.

Fiyero, spotting Rich said to the Gale forcers,

"Let the green girl go or watch as Glinda the good was slain!"

Fiyero pointed his rifle at Glinda to show he wasn't messing about; Rich pulled back the hammer on his revolver with an audible snap to add to the effect.

"Fiyero..., Rich…." Glinda said as calmly as she could, not trying to let the fear of the situation get to her.

"I said, let her go!" Fiyero shouted at the Gale Forcers who promptly released Elphaba.

"Rich get Elphaba out of here" Fiyero said to Rich.

"Not without you!" Elphaba replied, terrified for her love.

"Fiyero please" Glinda interjected.

"Hush! Now Go!" Fiyero said in a commanding tone.

Elphaba hesitated for a moment before Rich decided to help her up and escape. Moving carefully, he released Glinda and made his way to Elphaba but before he could reach his cousin, before anyone could do anything, one gale force soldier pulled out his sidearm and fired it at Rich!

Rich collapsed to the ground in sheer agony as the bullet hit him to left part of his stomach, miraculously missing anything vital but causing a lot of blood loss that could cause severe harm if not treated soon.

"RICH!" both Elphaba and Glinda shrieked in pure horror.

"Get Rich out of here!" Fiyero said to Elphaba as she ran over to Rich and held him close.

"Do it!" Glinda insisted as she tossed Elphaba's hat and broom to her.

Elphaba placed her hat on her head and slowly helped the badly hurt Rich to his feet.

With one last look at her love and her best friend, Elphaba hurried off, helping Rich move as she went whilst Fiyero distracted the Gale Forcers.

As quickly as she could, Elphaba took to the skies on the broom with Rich holding on behind her, she swooped over the Comet's wreckage as Elphaba climbed and accelerated the Broom as fast as she physically could go.

Elphaba knew she had not just the life of Rich in her Emerald Green Hands, but the life of Fiyero as well since the Gale forcers would torture him for information until dead; she forced the broom to fly as fast as humanly possible to Kiamo Ko. Elphaba now was in a race against time!


	15. Chapter 15

_**Wicked Comet part 15**_

Rich had fainted from the loss of blood whilst Elphaba was flying at a dangerously high speed on the broom whilst trying to get to Kiamo Ko in time. When he awoke again in one of Kiamo Ko's many bedrooms, he found that his gunshot had been stitched up with the offending bullet lying on a bedside table. A bloodied bandage was wrapped around his middle to protect the wound as it healed. Slowly, Rich looked across the vast room to find Elphaba, crouched on the floor and chanting something from the Grimmerie.

She seemed to hesitate for a moment before she slammed the book shut with a snarl and shouted in frustration,

"What good is this chanting? I don't even know what I am reading!"

Rich tried to move and comfort his cousin but when he tried to move, the wound exploded in pain again, which combined with Rich's grogginess leading from the loss of blood he sustained, prevented Rich from moving.

Elphaba didn't seem to notice Rich as she looked out of one of the Room's windows and said to no-one in particular,

"So let all Oz be agreed, I'm wicked through and through!"

Rich groaned out,

"Elphaba!"

Elphaba snapped out of her thoughts and whirled around to face Rich; her face had an angry look to it which immediately softened as Elphaba made her way over to her wounded cousin.

She magicked over a chair next to Rich's bed and sat down on it,

"How are you feeling?" Elphaba asked in concern.

"Like I've had one too many beers and been punched in the gut really, really, really hard." Rich replied.

Elphaba chuckled at Rich's statement.

"How are you?" Rich asked.

Elphaba sighed and said,

"Terrible. I've lost everyone except you and Glinda. Glinda probably hates me now so there is now only you left!"

Elphaba burst into tears and Rich held his cousin close to him whilst she cried.

"Elphaba, it's going to be ok. We've got each other and no-one and nothing can break us apart. Whatever you decide to do now, I'll help to the best of my ability" Rich said to Elphaba in a soothing tone.

"Thank you Rich, I can always count on you" Elphaba replied.

Elphaba then pulled back from Rich and stood up, strode over to a window facing east and leant against the ledge.

"So what's the plan?" Rich asked.

Elphaba took a deep breath before she said in a low, dangerous tone,

"We find Nessa's shoes and get them back!"

"Elphaba, be careful and don't do anything too rash" Rich warned.

Elphaba turned to face Rich again and the Wicked Grin on her face terrified Rich,

"Oh, I don't need to worry about that. I'm the wicked witch of the west!"

Elphaba then let out a cackle which nearly made Rich leap out of his own skin!

Elphaba climbed up onto the ledge and prepared to leap off, summoning her broom to her, Elphaba shouted "Chistery, look after Rich whilst I am gone!"

As she said this, a winged monkey wearing a butler's coat moved cautiously in from the only door in the room.

"That's the Monkey that you made grow wings!" Rich exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes he is the same one, Chistery will look after you whilst I'm gone. I won't be long" Elphaba replied to Rich before she leapt off of the balcony and took flight upon her broom heading east.

Rich could only wait for Elphaba to return and he prayed that whoever had Nessa's ruby slippers, would be safe from Elphaba's rage.


	16. Chapter 16

_**Wicked Comet part 16**_

Rich spent a long while in recovery, despite the accelerated healing provided by Elphaba's magic. When he was able to stand and walk again, he had to be helped by Elphaba or Chistery when Elphaba was out.

Rich knew what Elphaba was doing; she was locked in a hunt for Nessa's ruby slippers. Every time she left Kiamo Ko to hunt for the shoes, Rich had tried to reason with her but Elphaba wouldn't listen.

Over time Rich became increasingly bored, even with Elphaba stealing pieces of advanced military equipment off the Gale Force for Rich to examine, over the lack of activity since the Comet's demise and concerned over Elphaba's wellbeing. To pass the time, he had taken to teach Chistery and the Flying monkeys to play cards with a packet of playing cards which were the first present that Elphaba ever gave Rich for his Fifth birthday.

Lots of time passed, but one day, when Rich was playing a game of "Cheat" with Chistery, Elphaba came flying through the window at colossal speed and landed mere inches from where Rich was sitting!

"We're going to have guests soon" Elphaba said to Rich.

"Who?" Rich asked.

"The Farm girl and her companions" Elphaba replied with a smirk.

Rich instantly knew who Elphaba was talking about (She had been talking about them quite a lot recently).

"Oh Elphaba, you're not going to attack them are you?!" Rich groaned.

"I won't kill them if that's what you are saying. Besides, it's the Lion, the Farm-girl and that stupid mutt that I want" Elphaba snapped.

"Well that's a relief, but I do hope you know what you are doing, I don't want to see you getting hurt or doing anything stupid" Rich warned Elphaba in a concerned tone of voice.

"I've said this dozens of times and I will only say it once more, I'm the Wicked Witch of the West, I can do anything I want and nothing can stop me!" Elphaba replied angrily, her eyes flashing scarlet red for a brief second.

Rich looked terrified at Elphaba now, so he stood up to his full height and said calmly,

"I'll make my preparations" before he strode off slowly and painfully, with Chistery helping him along.

Elphaba slumped to the floor and cried, she didn't want to be wicked, all she wanted was to be loved and respected but that was all gone to her now. Her work to help Animals and animals alike, along with people fighting the Wizard, had been regarded as pure wickedness by the rest of Oz. One by one, Elphaba's friends and loved ones had either died or been turned against her. Rich had stuck with her the whole time but Elphaba was beginning to think that even Rich might turn against her soon.

She knew she had to work quickly and be careful since if she lost Rich, Elphaba would be truly alone.

 **Several hours later**

Elphaba had the Flying monkeys capture Dorothy, Toto and the Cowardly Lion and had flown them to Kiamo Ko where Dorothy had been isolated.

Try as she might, Dorothy couldn't get the shoes off, nor could Elphaba force them off due to Glinda's magic enchantment on them.

Rich had managed to find out where Dorothy was being held and had taken it upon himself to make sure that Dorothy didn't starve to death or go insane. Elphaba told him to do everything he could to get the shoes off Dorothy. Rich had expressed his doubts to this.

At this moment, Rich was currently in the corridor, outside the room where Dorothy was being held.

He didn't have a tray of food with him; the time that Rich had allocated when Dorothy's dinner would be brought to her was still a few hours off yet and that job, Rich would give to the flying monkeys. Rich only wanted to talk to Dorothy, hopefully in trying get the shoes off her feet.

Slowly, Rich turned the key in the lock and moved quietly into the room,

"Who's there?" came the timid voice of Dorothy from the darkened interior of the room.

"A friend" was Rich's reply as he sat down on an old wooden stool near the door.

Letting his eyes adjust to the darkness, he saw the huddled figure of Dorothy. She was just a kid for Oz sake!

They both sat in silence for a long moment before Rich said calmly,

"you are going to have to take those shoes off"

Dorothy whimpered before she burst out into tears,

"Don't you see? I can't! If I could I would have!" Dorothy managed to say between sobs.

Rich just sat where he was, fearful that any action on his part would make the situation worse, Couldn't Elphaba see that she was destroying Dorothy?

"I understand that. But those shoes have to come off soon. My cousin is starting to get mad now…." Rich said before he trailed off, as he realise he had just given away a critical piece of information and before he could give away more critical information such as Elphaba's name.

"She's your cousin?" Dorothy exclaimed, not quite believing what Rich had just said.

"Yeah, she is my cousin." Rich replied.

Dorothy was still confused by what Rich said so he explained as best as he could,

"The Witch and I grew up together, along with her sister, the witch of the east. Our lives were good, I invented many wonderful machines. Including a powered aircraft known as the Comet, but that crashed just as you arrived."

Dorothy interrupted Rich there,

"I saw a flying silver thing close to my house just before I arrived. Was that the Comet?" Dorothy asked.

"Yes, that was the Comet. I was flying it at the time, like I do always" Rich replied.

"Wow! That was you?" Dorothy said, surprised.

"It was, I was the one flying the Comet, but enough about me. What about you?" Rich asked.

Dorothy then began to tell Rich various facts about her life whilst Rich did the same.

"You know, my cousin, she isn't wicked. She's just lost her way. Those shoes are important to her" Rich said to Dorothy.

Dorothy smiled before she said,

"I knew it! I always thought she wasn't wicked!" she said in glee.

Just as she said this, they both heard Elphaba landing on the floor upstairs and her calling out,

"RICH? Where are you? You had better not be talking to that farm girl!"

"Blast, she's back early!" Rich exclaimed as he got up to his feet and strode towards the door,

"Promise me you will not mention anything that I told you to anyone" He said to Dorothy before he left the room.

"I promise" was Dorothy's reply before Rich left the room and locked the door behind him.


	17. Chapter 17

_**Wicked Comet part 17**_

That evening, Elphaba was taking a break from flying over Oz and doing Oz knows what. She spent some time playing a number of different card games, which were equally matched since both Thropp cousins were equals in intelligence. Elphaba took breaks from playing cards to open a trap door leading into the room where Dorothy was being held and shout at her to "get those shoes off your feet!"

"Takes a dead woman's shoes, she must have been raised in a barn!" Elphaba muttered angrily to herself.

"She lived on a farm so she might very well have been" Rich pointed out.

Just then, a bubble appeared from no-where and Glinda stepped out of it.

Rich and Elphaba immediately rose to their feet, Rich with his hand on his revolver.

"Go away." Elphaba said to Glinda, turning away from her.

"They're coming for you" Glinda warned, gesturing out of the window.

Rich looked out of the window and saw there were a huge number of Witch hunters with the scarecrow and the tin-man leading them approaching Kiamo Ko, all of them except the scarecrow were armed and looked ready to kill!

"We don't have long before they arrive!" Rich warned Elphaba as he grabbed a lot of his knockout gas ammunition and a state of the art sniper rifle which Elphaba had nicked off of the Gale force several days previously.

"They're coming for you and to rescue Rich" Glinda pointed out.

"Go away!" Elphaba snapped.

"What rescue mission?" Rich asked.

"The people of Oz think that you are being mind-controlled by Elphaba" Glinda explained.

"That's utter stupidity. I am helping Elphaba from my own free will" Rich retorted, trying to stop himself from laughing.

"Let the little girl go and that poor little dog Dodo" Glinda spoke to Elphaba.

Elphaba just ignored her.

"I know you don't want to hear this, but someone has to say it... You are out of control! I mean, come on! They're just shoes, let it go! Elphaba, you can't go on like this." Glinda protested.

"That's what I've being trying to tell her" Rich added.

"I can do anything I want. I am the Wicked Witch of the West!" Elphaba snapped.

One of the Flying monkeys then swooped in and handed Elphaba a letter.

"At last! What took you so long?" Elphaba snapped at the Monkey. She began to read the letter,

"What's this? Why are you bothering me with this?" Elphaba said to the monkey, but then her eye caught something within the letter's text.

Elphaba's eyes widened as she read the text, Rich moved towards Elphaba in order to read the letter but Elphaba hid the letter from Rich with cleverness.

"What is it? What's wrong? It's Fiyero, isn't it? Is he..." Glinda asked before she trailed off as Elphaba said,

"We've seen his face for the last time"

"Oh no!" Glinda said quietly, horrified.

"You're right... It's time I surrender." Elphaba said in defeat as she fetched a bucket from a corner and filled it with water.

"Elphaba, don't you dare!" Rich exclaimed in alarm as he moved to take the bucket of water away from her.

"Rich, what else is there that I can do now?!" Elphaba shouted at Rich.

"Anything but this." Rich then gestured to the Witch hunters, who were almost at the castle gates "they are going to kill you as soon as you surrender!"

"Then that is my fate." Elphaba said in resignation.

And then to Glinda she said,

"You can't be found here! You must go."

"No" Glinda said defiantly,

"You must leave" Elphaba insisted.

"No! Elphie, I'll tell them everything." Glinda protested,

Rich spoke up too,

"I could help as well. If what Glinda says is true about what Oz thinks of me, my word might still be influential"

"No! They'll only turn against you both!" Elphaba interrupted.

"I don't care!" Glinda snapped, on the edge of tears.

"I do! Promise me, promise me, you won't try to clear my name... promise." Elphaba pleaded.

Glinda, who was trying to stop tears falling out of her eyes and failing miserably took a breath and said,

"Alright... I promise"

Elphaba then took out the Grimmerie and handed it to Glinda.

"Here. Go on. Take this." Elphaba said.

"Elphie... you know I can't read that!" Glinda protested quietly but Elphaba shushed her.

"Well then, you'll have to learn" Elphaba replied with a warm, kind smile and a gentle tone of voice that Rich hadn't seen her use with anyone for a very long time.

By now the witch hunters had burst through the castle doors and were storming through the corridors and up the stairs to where they guessed Elphaba would be.

Whilst Elphaba and Glinda told each other how much they meant to each-other as friends, and were about to give their final goodbyes. Rich activated several locks on the only door in the room.

"They're almost here!" Rich warned Elphaba.

"Promise me you'll protect Rich" Elphaba said to Glinda.

"I will. You can count on me!" Glinda replied and as she said this, Rich took out the battered packet of playing cards from his pocket and handed them to Elphaba.

"Rich, no! They're yours. I gave those to you!" Elphaba protested but Rich interrupted with,

"They've brought me luck all these years. Maybe they'll bring you luck"

Elphaba then hid the playing cards in a hidden pocked in her dress and hugged Rich tight.

"I guess this is goodbye then" Rich said sadly to Elphaba.

"Maybe, but I won't go down that easily" Elphaba replied, trying to make Rich feel better but failing.

The cousins along with Glinda hugged each-other tightly and just before the Witch Hunters arrived, they parted. Glinda lead a protesting Rich away as Elphaba drew a curtain between herself and them. As she did so, Rich and Glinda looked into Elphaba's eyes and she theirs for what they sort of knew would be the last time.

"Hide yourselves!" was the last thing that Elphaba ever said to Glinda and Rich.

Once she closed the curtain, Elphaba turned to face the door which was now almost about to be smashed off of its hinges.

Taking a deep breath, she sank into a fighting stance and braced herself.


	18. Chapter 18

_**Wicked Comet part 18**_

Rich and Glinda watched from behind the curtain as the door to the room burst and the witch hunters came charging in! Elphaba seemed to be holding her own but Rich and Glinda knew that she would soon tire and falter.

"We've got to do something!" Glinda whispered to Rich, not expecting him to have a brainwave!

Rich snapped his fingers and said,

"OF COURSE!"

He then darted, with some painful difficulty up to a hidden door, opened it and charged up a hidden spiral staircase with Glinda struggling to keep up in her impractical bubble gown.

"What are you doing?" Glinda asked.

"There's a hidden room up there with a view over where Elphaba is right now. If I can get up there, I might be able to get into a sniping positon and assist Elphaba with sniper support using my knockout bullets!" Rich said excitedly.

Rich and Glinda then burst into the hidden room and yes, there was a small window overlooking the fight between Elphaba and the Witch Hunters. Rich set down his equipment on the floor and began loading the bullets into the rifle that he had picked up earlier.

Glinda kept an eye on things as best as she could.

Once Rich had loaded the Rifle, he took off the safety and cocked the bolt action mechanism. He then looked through the sights at potential targets.

"Why aren't you firing?" Glinda asked in stressed tone.

"Dammit, Dammit! I can't get a clear shot!" was Rich's reply as some of the flying monkeys had joined in the defence of Elphaba and their efforts were blocking Rich's line of fire!

Rich and Glinda's hearts thumped as high speed in their chests as they watched and waited.

Then without warning, Rich said,

"I've got a target!"

He then squeezed the trigger and… nothing happened.

The rifle had chosen this moment to jam!

Rich then pulled back the rifle and his expression was terrified as he tried to work the bolt free.

Glinda rushed to help but even with their combined strength, the stubborn bolt still wouldn't break free!

What they didn't know was that Dorothy had been freed and had found the bucket of water that Elphaba had left earlier and was creeping up on her!

Finally, Rich and Glinda managed to get the stubborn bolt free and Rich re-cocked the rifle as he aimed it!

"Dorothy's going for Elphaba!" Rich shouted in alarm over the noise of the fight. He knew that water wouldn't affect Elphaba but it might disorientate her long enough for the witch hunters to kill her.

"Don't harm her!" Glinda warned.

"I won't, the bullets won't harm her anyway. All I will do is try to knock the bucket out of her hands" Rich replied whilst he concentrated on lining up the shot.

Once lined up, he pulled the trigger, as he did so, several things happened, the first was that in Elphaba's desperate fight for her life, she had knocked over a burning lamp which set the bottom of her skirts on fire. The second was that Rich's bullet missed as Dorothy had thrown the bucket of water at Elphaba just as he fired and the third was that the water hit Elphaba with such force, she stumbled back before she screamed in agony! She slowly shrank lower and lower towards the floor as she melted until there was nothing left except a pile of her own clothes and her black hat. Elphaba had melted, Elphaba was dead!

The witch hunters cheered in victory so loudly, no-one could hear Rich's screams of horror as he watched his Cousin, his last remaining family die before his eyes.

Glinda had to use all of her strength and a little bit of magic to keep Rich quiet and to stop him charging into the main room and taking revenge for Elphaba's death. It would be lying if Glinda herself didn't want to do the same.

Glinda held Rich close as they both cried until Dorothy, her companions and the witch hunters left the room and Kiamo Ko itself.

Once they were gone, Rich broke away from Glinda as he sprinted back down the hidden staircase and fell to his knees at the spot where Elphaba Melted. He held Elphaba's hat close to his chest as he cried. Glinda came down a few moments later and stood aside, shedding tears of her own.

That was until Chistery handed her the green bottle that Elphaba had kept on her person.

"Miss, Miss Glinda?" Chistery spoke as he handed over the green bottle. (Rich was still mourning the loss of his cousin)

Glinda took the bottle from Chistery and looked at it for a long moment, something at the back of her mind was knowing at her thoughts until she realised where she had seen a bottle like this before!

"Rich?" Glinda said slowly and carefully as not to antagonise Rich any further.

"What?" Rich asked; his face streaked with tears.

"When I was working with the Wizard, just after Elphaba and Fiyero escaped. The Wizard offered me a drink from a bottle just like this." Glinda explained.

A flash of realisation danced across Rich's eyes before he stood up to his full height. He gave one final salute to Elphaba's melting spot, left the hat there and strode over to Glinda.

"Looks like the Wizard has some explaining to do" Rich said grimly.

Glinda knew that Rich was right.


	19. Chapter 19

_**Wicked Comet part 19**_

Glinda and Rich flew in two of Glinda's magical bubbles to the Emerald city where they managed to slip into the Wizard's palace without being noticed. Once inside the palace, Glinda dissipated the bubbles and the two sneaked through the corridors. By now, Dorothy and the witch hunters had arrived back in the Emerald City, mysteriously without the scarecrow, and everyone all over Oz was celebrating that the Wicked Witch of the west was dead. Some were fearful since the Wicked Comet's pilot was still at large and would probably be out for revenge, but the popular thought that Rich had been hypnotised by the Witch still prevailed. As Rich and Glinda arrived at the throne room, they could hear the Wizard and Madame Morrible talking,

"Well, I don't know why you're so despondiary, I thought it went quite well! They seem thrilled to shreds with their brains and their hearts, and this and that..." Madame Morrible said but she trailed off as Glinda came into the room. "Oh, Miss Glinda! I thought you'd be out festivating." 

"This was Elphaba's" Glinda said to the Wizard and Morrible as she held out the green bottle that Chistery had handed her.

The Wizard did a double take when he saw the bottle.

"What did you say?" The Wizard exclaimed.

"It was a keepsake. It was her mother's. She told me so herself. I've only seen a little, green bottle like this one other time. It was right here, in this very room. You offered me a drink from it." Glinda explained.

The Wizard took the bottle from Glinda and took another identical bottle from his coat pocket and compared the two together.

Rich snuck his way into the room and waited for the opportune moment.

"But... oh my Lord..." the Wizard stuttered as he realised something critical, something that horrified him to his core!

"I am a sentimental man who always longed to be...  
a father..." he said, recounting part of what he said to Elphaba, Glinda and Rich all of those years ago. 

"Well this is awkward isn't it?" Rich spoke slowly and carefully, with a grim tone as he walked out of his hiding spot and came into the view of the Wizard and Morrible. Morrible straightened up and made to call for help but Rich pulled out his revolver and pointed it at her.

"I wouldn't" he warned Morrible.

"She was my daughter" The wizard muttered to himself.

"So that was it. That's why she had such powers! She was a child of both worlds!" Morrible said in realisation.

The Wizard ignored her and cried.

"How does it feel, to know that you have had your own daughter killed?!" Rich snarled at the Wizard.

When the Wizard didn't answer, Rich continued with pure and uncontrollable fury lacing every word,

"ELPHABA AND I HAVE STUCK TOGETHER LIKE GLUE ALL OF OUR LIVES; I FOUGHT WITH HER THESE PAST FIVE YEARS EVEN THOUGH I KNEW I MIGHT BE KILLED. I SAW ELPHABA DIE! YOU KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO SEE YOU'RE LAST REMAINING FAMILY DIE IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES WHEN YOU HAD THE POWER TO PREVENT IT?! LIKE UTTER TRASH, THAT IS WHAT IT FEELS LIKE! AND NOW I WILL HAVE TO LIVE THE REST OF MY LIFE KNOWING I COULD HAVE PREVENTED MY COUSINS DEATH! YOU MIGHT BY MY UNCLE AND ELPHABA'S DAD, BUT I DON'T THINK YOU EVEN DESERVE THOSE TITLES, LET ALONE YOU'RE LIFE!"

Rich then pointed the revolver right at the Wizard who flinched, Morrible was frozen in place with fear and Glinda prepared to magically disarm Rich if needed.

Rich pulled back the Hammer and pulled the Trigger, the Wizard braced himself….. and nothing happened! All there was; was the sound of the hammer striking an empty chamber.

"you think it would be that easy? I have a powerful weapon in my hand! I COULD KILL YOU RIGHT NOW!" Rich roared before he put the revolver back in his pocket.

"But I won't kill you. I'm not a monster!" Rich spat.

Glinda took a moment to compose herself and she said to the Wizard in a commanding tone,

"I want you to leave Oz. I'll make the pronouncement myself: that the strains of wizardship have been too much for you and you are taking an indefinite leave of absence!"

When the Wizard didn't acknowledge her, Glinda said in a more angry tone,

"Did you hear what I said?!"

The Wizard leapt to his feet in fear and respect for Glinda and said,

"yes, your goodness" the Wizard said as he stumbled off.

"You'd better get your balloon ready!" Glinda called after the Wizard.

After the Wizard had left, Glinda called out at the top of her voice,

"GUARDS! GUARDS!"

Rich immediately sprinted off and hid behind the Wizard head, which was propped up against a wall. As he did so, two guardsmen entered the room and stood to attention.

"Glinda, dear, I know we've had our miniscule differentiations in the past..." Morrible said; trying to get on Glinda's good side but Glinda was having none of it.

"Madame, have you ever considered how you'd fare in captivity?" Glinda asked.

Morrible was quite taken aback at this. 

"What?" Morrible asked, not quite grasping what Glinda was saying.

"Captivity... prison!" Glinda explained as if she was teaching a small child, she then continued with,

"Personally, I don't think you'll hold up very well. My professional opinion is that you do not have what it takes. I hope you prove me wrong. I doubt you will."

Rich smirked from where he was hiding, Glinda had told him and Elphaba after the night at the Ozdust what Morrible had said to her.

"How do you like a taste of your own medicine Horrible?" Rich muttered.

"Take her away!" Glinda then shouted whilst gesturing towards Southstairs prison.

The guardsmen then dragged Morrible off to Southstairs, all the while Morrible was screaming "NO!"

Once they were gone, Rich emerged from his hiding place and over to where Glinda was standing, head bowed.

"you ok?" was all Rich could ask.

Glinda nodded and then she stood up to her full height and said,

"It's over"

"Not nearly, we've still got all the wrongs that the Wizard and Morrible have done to correct and the small manner of my still being a fugitive" Rich replied in an apologetic tone.

Glinda took Rich's hand in hers and said,

"Then we'll do so together"

"Yeah, together" Rich agreed and the two friends, the last of their social circle still actually friends and prepared to take on whatever life could throw at them. 


	20. Chapter 20

_**Wicked Comet part 20**_

 _ **Epilogue**_

 _ **3 months later**_

Rich sat in an ornately furnished office that had formerly been Morrible's but had been heavily refurbished to suit Rich's needs as well as to remove all traces of Morrible.

It had taken this long already to start Rich's road to redemption (After Rich had gone along with the rumour that Elphaba had hypnotised him and he was working for her against his will), and to start on making Oz better than it had ever been, for starters removing all of the anti-animal laws that the Wizard had put in place. Glinda was now Oz's ruler and Rich was her right hand.

Rich had decided to let the governance of Munchkinland be decided by its own people since he had no interest in becoming eminent Thropp.

Right now, he was signing documents relating to the starting of full scale production of Comet Aircraft, after three more prototypes were built and tested of course.

His own Comet, the original Comet, now known as Oscar Zulu 1 had been salvaged from its crash site in Munchkinland and had been brought to the Emerald City so Rich could start on the long task of repairs in order to get it flying again.

As he did this, Rich noticed a small sealed package which was addressed to him lying on his desk, it hadn't been there when he last looked.

Curiously, he checked it over and then opened it with his pen-knife.

Inside was a small rectangular box of playing cards. His playing cards! The last time Rich had seen his packet of playing cards was when he gave Elphaba them before her 'melting'. Attached to the packet of cards was a handwritten note, the note read,

"You can't bring me down that easily"

Rich just smiled.


End file.
